Crisis Averted – Willow Smith’s Tongue Ring Is Fake

Mike Krumboltz

Did Willow Smith really get her tongue pierced? The 11-year-old actress/singer/designer posted a photo of herself showing off what looks to be a medal stud on her tongue. But hold onto your outrage, folks — it isn't real.

The photo inspired a slew of responses on Twitter. Few folks thought the tongue ring was appropriate. One person wrote, "Willow Smith got her tongue pierced at 11 years old. When I was 11, I was making sure my tamagotchi didn't die, not getting piercings." Another wrote, "Willow Smith is 11 and has a tongue ring. WHERE ARE HER PARENTS?" Still one more wrote, "Willow Smith has a tongue ring. Yo...I'm out. Bye. PS: Never having children."

Following the uproar, Willow Smith responded with a post of her own. She updated the Instagram photo with a new caption. It now reads: "It's fake…Sorry." So, there ya go.

We first saw the photo at E! Online. The photo appeared on Instagram, the popular photo-sharing site. Willow appears with another young girl in the photo. Hashtags included: "#fake, #dontjudge, and #justhavingfun."

The "#fake" hashtag was a clue. And Gossip Cop writes that a source told the blog, "It isn't a piercing -- it is a magnet. Just a young girl having fun with accessories."

[Related: Willow Smith talks working with Nicki Minaj]

As E! Online pointed out, Willow's parents have shown that they support their kids making their own decisions. Will Smith told Parade Magasine, "When you have a little girl, it's like how can you teach her that you're in control of her body? If I teach her that I'm in charge of whether or not she can touch her hair, she's going to replace me with some other man when she goes out in the world."

We reached out to Willow's representatives (yes, she has more than one) for a comment, but did not hear back.